TENS of thousands of drivers are spurning the M6 Toll Road because it is too costly, say West Midland business leaders.

The survey by Birmingham Chamber Group reveals that none of those quizzed use the road on a daily basis, while the vast majority (78.2 per cent) said price was the main obstacle.

The Chamber survey comes against a backdrop of continuing delays and traffic chaos on the M6 through Birmingham, and the announcement by the government that urgent work is to be undertaken to widen the motorway at Castle Bromwich, as part of a £600 million package of transport improvement schemes.

The congestion and chaos currently plaguing the M6 has persuaded some motorists to use the Toll Road – 13.4 per cent of those surveyed said that they used it because of road closures and roadworks.

According to new figures, the Toll Road saw usage increase by 5.2 per cent between July and September, and the average number of users is now 44,089 every day, compared to 41,898 a year ago.

The Chamber survey found that 38.9 per cent of those polled never use the road, and only 27.8 per cent use it regularly.

Nearly a third of those surveyed said they use the road only occasionally.

The Toll Road fees are currently £5 per car, and £10 for an HGV.

Will Rogers, Chamber policy adviser, said: “It’s good to see that there has been an overall growth in the usage of the Toll Road since 2009.

“However, many people still feel that the road is still too highly priced to provide a viable alternative to the heavily congested M6.

“For regular users, it’s not an economic alternative to the M6 – however, it remains to be seen what will happen once the proposed road-widening scheme between Ray Hall and Castle Bromwich is completed.

“That scheme, plus the one currently underway at Wolverhampton, should lead to a reduction in congestion, which could mean there will be less reason to use the Toll Road than there is today.”